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In June 2007 I was diagnosed with Stage IIIA Colon Cancer. Resection and 6 months of Folfox chemotherapy followed. This was followed with 6 month blood tests ( primarily CEA and LDH tests). This went fine until January this year when the CEA bumped up . I scheduled an appointment 2 months later and my CEA had gone up again. Off for a PET scan and 2 light ups. One EBUS biopsy later to confirm a new primary ( Stage III, T1N2M0) not a late metastasis of my CC. I now have a new oncologist and have completed 2 complete GemCarb cycles of chemo. I have had zero side effects with this regimen and am quite happy for the moment to let the professionals make the decisions. I don't know where this is going , I'm just here for the ride.

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Welcome to LCSC. This is a great site to connect with other survivors and ask questions, share stories, and learn from each other's experiences. Please feel free to explore the blogs and discussion boards and jump into some of the ongoing conversations. Or, if there is a particular topic/question you'd like to start, feel free to open a new thread.

I'm glad to hear that your treatment is off to a good start! Please post an update when you can.

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Hey wwroam! Welcome to our little club! I am a Cancer Rookie, but I can tell from the short time that I have been a member, there is a significant number of excellent information sources that respond to our questions. I look forward to your participation.

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Thanks for the welcome.I see from your thread Fred that you are also T2. If you go on to chemo negotiate the lowest possible dose of dexmethazone ( used as an anti-nausea agent). that you can. I'm getting a fairly low dose with my GenCarb but I asked for a script for Januvia from my GP for use on infusion days. My last HbA1c was 5.6 on 2 * 500 mg of metformin.

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I tòo am t2 diabetic and on gem/ carbo and the dex meds raise my bs levels up high but my oncologist started me on this capsule and half dose of dex and instead of a level of 25mmol i get 16mmol ...i am on insulin and increase the dose on the 3 days of taking dex but the 4th morming it normalizes back down to normal

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Hey wwroam & Mally - I sure am happy that you two are in the club, specifically we are all cancer kids, but we have additional maladies, to wit: Type 2 diabetes. I do have to ask you both, when I found out that I had lc, my blood/sugars have become "wacked out", and I can't seem to get them under control. Does anybody have any solutions to my blood/Sugar issues; secondly, can my diagnosis (lung cancer) be impacting my blood sugars?

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I think just the stress of having lc is enough to raise blood sugars so speak to your dr and see if you should increase any meds you are on ....i always had raised blood sugar first thing in the morning but since being on chemo my morning levels are much lower and im not sure why so we are both in a new learning curve with our sugar levels and ive been diabetic for 30 yrs so im quite good at knowing how to use insulin adjustments to correct my numbers but still run it past my diabetic educator

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I feel that giving diabetics Dex is a pretty high risk activity.I get infusions of 8mg on Day 1 and 4mg on day 8. I have a bottle of of 4mg tablets of Dex which I'm supposed to take on days 2,3,9,10. I take none of the orals. When first diagnosed as T2 I started out on 2 * 50/1000 Januvia which was progressively reduced to 2 * 500 mg of Met.I think that a bit of trial and error with the meds is called for.

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I get an injection of dex on day 1 and followed by 2 tablets for 2 days and blood sugars rise very high but come right down on the 4th day and after that i take 8mg Ondansetron for nausea and they work well and dont affect my blood sugar levels

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I had a CT scan back on the 18th and did a review with my oncologist on Monday.

There has been significant shrinkage of my tumour , and radiation is now in the conversation. Even "curative intent"has worked its way into the conversation. Today starts my third round of chemo . My neutrophils and platelets are hanging in there but my haemoglobin is well down so I'm booked in for a bag on Friday. I have no other side effects and feel really well.

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Way to go, wwroam, that is GREAT NEWS! I begin my radiation and chemo next week, so I guess that I will be jumping in to the shallow end of the pool! I will keep ya'll posted and will be listening for all of the tips that will be forthcoming!!

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Yesterday , Wednesday ,was the day 8 infusion of Gencitabine ( completeing my 3rd round). My red bloods , even after last Fridays transfusion are still very low though the white cells are still hanging in there.

The day finished with another bag of blood. I feel really washed out today. I wish I had insisted on a Portacath like I had in 2007. It took 5 attempts and 3 nurses to get a working vein. I'm getting a bit fed up with the original decision to just go with a canula.

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I am usually very forthright with my opinions. I've put up with this canula and the dexmethazone ( against my better judgment) just to keep the peace. Mustn't upset the oncologist. Time for the worm to turn.

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Well I got my new powerport and it's had a lot of use already. I've completed my 4 rounds of Gemcarb, had another PET scan and things are still looking optimistic. Those 2 lymph nodes are no more and the primary tumour has continued shrinkage. Hopefully this afternoons meeting of the Lung Panel will confirm that I can move on to radiation + Carboplatin + Taxol. That Gemcitibine did a number on my Haemoglobin and Haematocrete. It wore me out but the result was good. The port has come in handy for the blood transfusions.

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Good morning, Wayne. Isn't that port wonderful? I didn't have one for last spring's chemo but I insisted on one this year. It was rough last year. Also sounds like you're getting great results and that is WONDERFUL! I finished 6 weeks of radiation and carboplatin/taxol on May 19th, and have had one bonus round of chemo, with another scheduled for Friday. I had cisplatin/alimta last year and it was not fun, but it was nothing compared to the taxol. The taxol was almost enough for me to throw up the white flag. I hope your side effects are minimal.

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Finally a port in the storm of IV sticks! Wonderful news. And, lymph node involvement is gone and the primary is shrinking. I do hope radiation is next. I also had Carboplatin and Taxol -- a total of 18 infusions. My side effects were tough but the result was worth it.